domenica 1 giugno 2014

A midmorning awakening

No doubt for me that 1981 was THE YEAR post punk finally emerged as a style, an ethos and the sound that will influence music for decades. It seemed to me the exact moment when that sound and way of looking at music spreading farthest without diminishing their punk intensity. The heroes of the first wave were about to retire (like Wire, Buzzcocks, Joy Division of course) but still hadn’t lost a step, and so many others were at their peak and still many more greats just getting started. Many artist we like had their masterpieces in 1981... The Bunnymen, DAF, Comsat Angels, The Sound, The Cure, PIL, Japan etc. One album in particular was a real "punch in the stomach" that year... Clock Dva's first proper lp after some schizophrenic cassettes of distorted Sheffield Cabs alike sound. "Thirst", a milestone for the black-clad generation of white souls that couldn't believe that experimental music was only a P-Orridge incarnation. Thirst was the album I was waiting for since I heard "Brigade" for the first time, a sort of DVA's perennial state in their never ending quest for knowledge. Songs like "4 Hours" soon became symbols of a whole generation of true believers in the possibilities of "real" free creativity. This was a long-selling work (80,000) copies made Clock Dva a very "hot" band for major labels too, and Polydor won the race in 1982 putting them under contract. After a couple of singles, Clock Dva recorded "Advantage", their second LP. Needless to say it's a good album too, cold poetry, noire stories and free jazz. But it wasn't the same. The road to success was wide open but Adi Newton was just loosing himself feeling quite uneasy: the direction that DVA's music was taking was too safe for his fulfillment so he left the band soon after. Clock dva tried to substitute him with a female singer, but the result was embarassing. Years after Adi came back starting a new phase more experimental but less interesting, nothing compared to their glorious Sheffield years...